An Uncomfortable Conversation
by Church1alpha
Summary: Harry and Hermione have a conversation about magical wedding vows, with an uncomfortable realization


A/N: I was reading a story recently about binding magical marriage contracts, and thought that the lack of ability for divorce must be a problematic risk. In the US, over 40% of marriages end in divorce, and marital tensions and unfortunate matches must be a risk in the magical world as well, which could lead to a number of unfortunate effects on people. And thus this plot bunny was born. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Hermione Granger, soon to be Hermione Weasley, sat on her couch thinking. She was more or less satisfied with how her life was going so far, but there was one aspect she was less than pleased with: her relationship with one Harry James Potter.

When the war ended, everything had seemed to be going well. She was dating Ron, and Harry was dating Ginny. Harry and Ginny had married soon after the war, and if Hermione thought they may have been rushing into things, she wasn't directly involved and held her tongue. This was well and good, but Harry and Ginny immediately started arguing almost as much as Ron and herself. Many of the arguments were about Hermione in some form or another; the red-haired girl had always been jealous of their relationship.

And then the affairs started.

It seemed like every week, Ginny had a new "secret" lover. The Prophet reported on most of them, after the fling had expired, but without photos Ginny seemed able to convince Harry that it was merely printing scandalous lies. Hermione wondered why they were still together, but supposed that Harry must love Ginny anyway, though Hermione couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed in him for it. Their relationship became more and more strained, but she made sure to keep meeting with him at least once a week to just talk. Ginny was enraged by this, and even Ron, her own fiance, seemed to think that the visits would be ending once they were married. A knock at the door brought her thoughts back to the present. Harry had finally arrived!

He greeted her, but seemed more subdued than usual. She was certain that the conversation they weren't having was about Ginny, and she finally asked him what was wrong.

"She's been having affairs. Lots of them. A new one every week."

Hermione was surprised to see how calmly he was taking it, but still felt she should try to comfort him. "Oh, Harry. I'm so sorry."

"I'm not."

"What?"

"I'm not. Not sorry, or surprised. Not at all. And I don't really care. Once, I would have, but that was before..."

"Before what?"

"Before she tried to seduce Neville. He turned her down, and immediately came and told me. He's a good friend."

"Harry, why are you still with her?"

"I don't have a choice."

Hermione knew what he was talking about, but her heart still broke a little at how dejected he sounded. "You love her."

"No."

Now she was shocked. "Harry, you love her. Why else would you be together, why would you have married so fast?"

Harry sighed and slumped into himself. "I didn't have a choice. After the final battle, Ginny sought me out. I hadn't been sure about how I felt, and we thought we'd talk it out. Talking led to kissing, then to... Well, it was a stressful time, and I couldn't control my hormones. Afterwards, I realized that I didn't love her, that I loved someone else, and told her so. She seemed to take it fine at the time, but three weeks later she tells me she's pregnant and Mrs. Weasley demands that we get married. I wasn't very pleased by this, but I didn't have a choice. Less than a day after the wedding, she terminated the pregnancy. Cut to now, six months on, and I'm stuck and miserable in a loveless marriage."

"Why don't you leave her?"

"I can't. Magical wedding vows. Our magic accepted each other, and it can't be broken. There's no divorce."

"Harry, magical wedding vows only serve as a reflection of the devotion of the couple. There's a simple ceremony that can be performed; only one of the parties has to do it for the bindings to break. Then there's the more complicated civil divorce process, but it's certainly possible. In the muggle world, people marry the wrong person all the time; it must happen in the magical world as well. Honestly, Harry, how stupid would it be if you couldn't dissolve a marriage in the magical world as well? Who told you that it wasn't possible?"

"You did," he said, with darkness in his eyes.

"Harry, this is the first I've heard of your dilemma. What are you talking about?"

"I asked Ron to talk with you immediately. He said that you couldn't find a way out."

"Harry, Ron never mentioned it."

"That lying, back-stabbing sack of..."

As though summoned by those words, the front door opened, and Ronald Weasley walked in. "Hey, Herms, I don't know if I can make it to dinner tonight, so I thought we could grab lunch instead. Hi, Harry."

"Ronald," Hermione replied calmly, "Today is Thursday. I always have lunch with Harry on Thursdays. You know this."

"Well, yeah, Herms, but we're getting married. You should be spending time with me, not him."

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! We have been over this! Just because I was marrying you, doesn't mean that I don't get my own friends."

"Look, Herms- Wait. What do you mean, was?"

"Harry's just told me an interesting story. Apparently you said that I told you there was no way to break wedding vows, even when the other party isn't living up to their end. Why would you lie to both of us?"

"It was Ginny's idea, honest. She said that she would marry Harry, and I would marry you. It was the only way to keep the two of you away from each other. She would seduce Harry using fertility charms, and she could fix everything later. I had to do it, Herms, otherwise you and Harry would have gotten together. He's had a crush on you since third year, everyone knew it. It was the only way."

Outside, Hermione was calm. Inside, she was seething with rage. That pathetic excuse for a human! She removed her ring, sweetly told him, "Ron, the wedding is off," and chucked said ring at his head as hard as possible. The cut on his face made him immediately regret getting her such a pointy diamond.

"You can't do this to me, Herms! We're getting married, and that's final! There's a, uh... Magical engagement! Yeah, that. And, and it, uh, can't be broken. So... You have to marry me!"

For the first time since Ron showed up, Harry spoke. "You know, Ron, hurting Hermione is the last thing anyone would want to do. Because even in the unlikely event that they survived her, they would have to deal with me. Now, you know and I know that Hermione probably wouldn't do anything too permanent to you. But I killed Voldemort, the darkest wizard of the age, without breaking a sweat. I'm one of the most powerful wizards since Merlin, with Albus gone. I would be very afraid right now, if I were you. Now, LEAVE!"

Ron turned tail and ran out of the room.

Harry turned back to Hermione, smiling for the first time since he'd entered the house. "Hey, Hermione, how soon can we do the marriage dissolution ritual?"

Hermione gazed back at him in shock. "You've had a crush on me since third year?"

"Um," Harry replied sheepishly. "Well, yeah."

"Am I the one you wanted to leave Ginny for?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, Harry. After you're single again, would you want to get dinner together?"

"I'd like that," he smiled.


End file.
